What is the smallest thing that has all the charecteristics of life?

Question

a. a bacterial cell
b. a cold virus
c. a seed
d. a gnat

Answer 1

A. A virus doesn't have all the characteristics of life, so it cannot be right. And a bacterial cell does, and it is smaller than a seed and a gnat.

Characteristics of Life (according to Wikipedia).
1. Homeostasis: Regulation of the internal environment to maintain a constant state; for example, sweating to reduce temperature.
2. Organization: Being composed of one or more cells, which are the basic units of life.
3. Metabolism: Consumption of energy by converting nonliving material into cellular components (anabolism) and decomposing organic matter (catabolism). Living things require energy to maintain internal organization (homeostasis) and to produce the other phenomena associated with life.
4. Growth: Maintenance of a higher rate of synthesis than catalysis. A growing organism increases in size in all of its parts, rather than simply accumulating matter. The particular species begins to multiply and expand as the evolution continues to flourish.
5. Adaptation: The ability to change over a period of time in response to the environment. This ability is fundamental to the process of evolution and is determined by the organism's heredity as well as the composition of metabolized substances, and external factors present.
6. Response to stimuli: A response can take many forms, from the contraction of a unicellular organism when touched to complex reactions involving all the senses of higher animals. A response is often expressed by motion, for example, the leaves of a plant turning toward the sun or an animal chasing its prey.
7. Reproduction: The ability to produce new organisms. Reproduction can be the division of one cell to form two new cells. Usually the term is applied to the production of a new individual (either asexually, from a single parent organism, or sexually, from at least two differing parent organisms), although strictly speaking it also describes the production of new cells in the process of growth.

Answer 2

A. A bacterial cell. Viruses, although they appear to have life, do not live. They cannot reproduce on they're own and they do not need food. Bacteria have all the characteristics of life. Most make they're food from Chemosynthesis and photosynthesis. So, in conclusion, bacteria are the smallest living organism.

Answer 3

Of these,
A. A bacterial cell
is the best answer.

There are smaller things, such as mycoplasmas, that are alive, though.

Answer 4

virus' are the smallest living things known to man so it would be the cold virus.

Answer 5

A liberal's brain.

Answer 6

a

Answer 7

b

Answer 8

hahahahahahaha a